Cllr Loic Rich, Independent, Truro Tregolls

Anyone would know that rented accommodation is in short supply in Truro. With estate agents often reporting hundreds of enquiries for just one property, it’s no wonder that many households are ending up in temporary accommodation. This often means being miles away from the workplace, and children struggling to get to their local school.

While large developments such as Pydar and Langarth offer some hope to local people looking for an affordable or council home, there are also opportunities for smaller housing schemes, or even refurbishing empty spaces above shops in the city centre. This is where community-led housing can help.

Organisations such as Truro Community Land Trust, which I am involved with, can access grants and other sources of funding to build quality homes for social rent to local people.

If we can create more accommodation in the city centre, it reduces the pressure to build on the countryside around Truro. It also means that many people will be closer to their workplaces and schools, and if people can walk or cycle to their place of employment or education, that means less traffic in the morning.

It means more people in Truro, spending their money locally, keeping the high street busy, and providing more footfall for those independent retailers and businesses that help make Truro the special place it is.

Being a councillor is a great way to make a difference locally, but the council can’t do everything and solve every problem, which is why I volunteer with Truro Community Land Trust. Land Trusts enable communities to get behind and promote housing schemes, in the places where people need homes, for the prices they can afford, and at a quality that they will be happy with.

Essentially, we can build homes to meet the needs of the community rather than external investors or commercial developers. It means we can look at places that might be too small or complicated for a private developer, or even the council, to find the project viable.

It might not be a huge amount of housing, but they will still be homes for people, in the place where they work, where their friends and families are, and where they want to be, and so for them it will make all the difference.

You can find out more about how to get involved with Truro Community Land Trust by visiting www.truroclt.org.uk